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Our Secretary of Labor is M.I.A. in Protecting Workers (Part 1)

In recent days, colleagues have asked me to write about the near-collapse of the economy. My first response was to decline-recognizing all too well that I, like most of our nation's leaders, was not entirely clear about what was going on. I've always been a big believer that wisdom is about knowing when to keep your mouth shut (or fingers away from the keyboard). As Proverbs 17:28 says, "Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning."

Although I must admit that I am still not completely clear about what all has occurred and has not occurred, I am more convinced than ever that we need a Secretary of Labor who cares about workers and who will at least try to address issues faced by workers. Unfortunately for the nation, we have a Secretary of Labor who is missing in action.

When the unemployment figures came out last week, Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao issued a one-sentence statement: "Today's employment report provides further evidence of the need for the House of Representatives to pass an economic rescue package today, before it adjourns, which will protect Main Street America and mitigate further job loss." That's it. That's all she could muster on the subject.

The day before, she'd given a lengthy speech to the Chamber of Commerce decrying the "Europeanization" of the workplace and denigrating unions. Meanwhile, her Wage and Hour Administrator, Alexander Passantino, claims the Division is doing a great job enforcing wage and hour laws. I'm sure the Education and Training Administrator says the agency is doing a great job there too. Throughout Chao's speeches over the last year, she's been claiming what a great job the Bush administration is doing for working people. Well, the emperor has no clothes.

In the midst of the economic meltdown, dramatically rising unemployment figures, military-style immigration raids in workplaces, employers stealing wages like there's no tomorrow, young people unprepared for today's jobs

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